


yu vs his sodium intake

by orphan_account



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Gen, at all. also my friend wanted me to post this, this is not meant to be taken seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:55:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28422030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Yu Narukami is a man of many secrets.
Relationships: None
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	yu vs his sodium intake

Yu Narukami is a man of many secrets. He captured Yasogami High the day he set foot in its hall, with girls gossiping about his features (How does he keep his hair so flat? Why does he know what everyone loves already? And what’s with that fishing habit?), but one secret he kept near to his heart; it was something he couldn’t tell even his closest friends and teammates. So it was just his luck that his secret decided to rear its ugly head now, in the middle of facing Naoto’s shadow. As he tried his best to keep his panicking team together, ignoring Rise’s squeals and Kanji’s yells, he couldn’t satiate his one need— to consume sodium. Yu, after being dragged to 4 different continents by his parent’s demanding careers, was exposed to numerous types of snacks— but one topped them all: orange fish crackers from the grocery store in some obscure suburb. 

In the middle of this hardcore battle, Yu drops to his knees. Yosuke rushes over, concerned for his friend. “You okay there partner?” 

Yu had no response. He just shook his head, for what was “ok” about not having fish crackers? What was his purpose, if not to bruise his tongue on the excess of salt?  
“Why, what’s wrong?” Yosuke asks, in his usual boyish manner— but he has no idea what it’s like to crave something this badly. His demeanor is usually a comfort, but at this moment, Yu wants to strangle him for not making his father carry the crackers at Junes. 

In the distance, Shadow Naoto cackles, his low voice barely affecting Yu— the only people with a vice grip on his most primordial senses are the folks at the cracker making company. 

“Come on, Senpai, get up!” Kanji  bellows  from across the laboratory, casting a nervous glance towards his fallen brethren. Yukiko isn’t even there, she’s bent canon to highlight how drastic the situation is. Chie is rocking back and forth on her heels, and Yu notices her orange-adjacent hair for the first time. Orange… just like…  _ them. _

Yosuke’s proximity was rapidly becoming a problem. His orange hair was illuminated by Naoto’s artificial lighting, and Yu could tell how bad he was at dyeing his hair. His hunger stopped for a minute, to really appreciate how laughably bad Yosuke was at dyeing his hair. He begins to laugh at his best friend, the hunger driving him to madness. 

Yosuke’s brow furrows more. “Partner?” Yu could only smirk manically. “Yosuke, you’ve always expected me to be there for you.” He turns to the rest of the group, arms spread wide. “You all have! But no longer, I won’t let you use me anymore. I won’t be the friend that smiles back! Never again!” Another figure enters the vicinity, eyes glinting in the darkness. Shadow Naoto is forgotten, and Yukiko appears again for healing purposes. Yu walks in, but he’s different, he’s taller and fuller somehow.  
Yu snaps out of his stupor, ignoring the cries of his friends. He says, “Who are you?” trying to regain control of his usual calm persona (👼🤡 get it guys). 

The not-Yu answers. “Why, I’m you. Well, I’m you but actually sponsored by your cracker brand! Look how I’ve developed, look how I’m not controlled to my desires.”

Yu protests, “That can’t be true! They would never pay the shipping fees!” But his shadow’s grin only widened, his eyes looking more orange than gold. He walks around, distorting the facade of the lab with every step. The ground becomes softer, almost paper-like, and the air is filled with the smell of stale crackers. 

“Join me, enter this shell of a body, and you will have everything you want. There’s nothing left for you in Inaba, with there being a lack of fish crackers. In this reality, in this shadow world, my company will always have your back!” Shadow Yu threw his head back and opened his mouth, and crackers streamed from the ceiling, like they were summoned. Kanji bent down and took a handful, before declaring “Yeah they’re not too bad Senpai! A bit bland, but I see the appeal.” Kanji then suddenly started to choke and splutter, before dropping to the ground, chest heaving. “Crap! They were jalapeno cheddar flavored!” Yu could only roll his eyes at that, because of course his underclassman was a plebian when it came to his beloved crackers. In fact, most of the team were inexperienced— with their own insecurities, and junk food from America. His shadow’s offer was becoming more and more appealing, and he felt drawn towards the figure standing on a hill of the crackers. 

What was left for him in this town? He was a nobody and everybody at once— the talk of the town and still stuck there, bound by his duty that was just plopped in his lap. In the bliss of sodium, he wouldn’t have responsibility. He would only have enjoyment, shallow as that is. But hedonism doesn’t suit Yu, especially when it came to crackers. Who else would be around to educate the ignorant masses? Yosuke subsided off stale Junes food, Rise had to drink soda because of her contract, and Kanji was obsessed with “finding the penguin” in his godforsaken animal crackers. Without him as the leader, who would be around to help them out?

Yu straightened himself, and met his shadow’s gaze at the top of the cracker hill. He knew what he must do. 

“I’m you, and you’re me. We’re both addicted to crackers, but I know this cannot be the answer!” 

His shadow looked at him, afraid of his oncoming oblivion but sure in it. “I knew I could count on you to keep our heart rate much too high,” he said, chuckling. With that, he disappeared. Yu gave a loud sigh, and turned to face the group, who looked absolutely baffled. Shadow Naoto was gone, and Naoto was laying face down on the ground. The group had been just fine without him, and he allowed himself to smile before succumbing to his own exhaustion. As he closed his eyes on the soft paper of his giant cracker bag, he heard one thing— a promise to start stocking more crackers at the tofu store. 


End file.
